“June is here and I truly have no fear for the rest of the year.” Sha’Carri Richardson looked surprisingly unfazed even after her disappointing 2025 season opener in Tokyo. While Bree Rizzo raced to an 11.38s gold, Richardson could only shake off her 8 months of rust with a fourth finish in 11.47s at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix last month. She now has 7 days before she lines up for her second 100m race of the season. And we fear that the shroud of disappointment won’t end unless Richardson fixes these 3 things urgently!

Well, the Prefontaine Classic 2025 is lined up for July 5. There’s not much time. And it’s going to be a classic Paris Olympics 100m final rematch. There’s Julien Alfred, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and Sha’Carri Richardson, all in one race. But Richardson knows her way around Eugene, having won the US title there in 2023 and the Prefontaine Classic last year. So, here’s what she could actually work on to get her ‘that girl’ aura back on track!

Sha’Carri Richardson and her slower starts

While we say this is a Paris rematch, there’s a real fear that what happened in Paris might repeat itself. In the 100m finals, Sha’Carri Richardson’s slow start quite literally cost her the gold. To put it in perspective, her reaction time of 0.221s was the slowest among all finalists! In fact, it was nearly twice as slow as Julien Alfred, who was off in just 0.144 seconds. What’s worrying is that it wasn’t a one-off. In the prelims, her reaction time was still a red flag, 0.200 seconds, keeping her at the 69th position amongst 72 runners. Again in the semis, she ranked 24th out of 26 with a not-so-great 0.191s reaction.

And now in 2025, we are worried because those concerns haven’t gone away. At the Seiko GP last month, when the commentator remarked, “Richardson left a little in her blocks…” they weren’t wrong. We checked the numbers, and the same worrisome pattern appeared again. Her reaction time was 0.181 seconds, the slowest among all 8 runners. So yes, this is something she needs to address urgently. Because if not, Julien Alfred, with her explosive starts, will not need much to hold her off!

Missing the mid-race momentum

Needless to say, the 100m event demands lightning-fast execution. From the gun to the finish line, every millisecond counts. And Sha’Carri Richardson isn’t just getting off to a slow start; she’s also struggling to make up ground later in the race. It’s very clear that she needs to sharpen her acceleration phase. Banking on her numbers recently, she’s been clocking 11-plus times in her last two 100m runs, a sign that the burst just isn’t there. It almost feels like she eases off mid-race and doesn’t quite empty the tank through to the finish.

Now at Tokyo’s Seiko Golden Grand Prix on May 18, Richardson clocked 11.47 s into a -0.9 m/s headwind, widely off her 10.65s personal best. One could see that the post-start rhythm never truly kicked in. For comparison, look at the 2023 World Championships, where Sha’Carri Richardson stormed to 100m gold. Her 0 to 30 metre splits were all above 1 second, but once she got into her upright position, she hit her stride, dropping into the 0.90s and surging ahead. That’s how she nailed a 10.83s finish and became the world champion.

Also, Richardson’s biomechanics naturally allow her to maximize her stride length and cover more ground with minimal effort. But lately, even that top-end speed seems to have gone off the boil. Her personal best is 10.65s, and she isn’t even running anywhere near that.

Sha’Carri needs to lace up more often

It’s time to show up more! So far this year, there is only one race Sha’Carri Richardson is eyeing, and that is the World Championships in September. She doesn’t have much pressure for it because she doesn’t have to qualify for the race. As the reigning champion, she is already in! However, this privilege might just be more of a curse than a blessing for her. The lack of pressure to keep performing and qualifying has kept her away from the track for a huge chunk of the season. She has just run one race, while many of her opponents have tested their speed and form in at least 5+ races so far.

At one point, fans expected Richardson to make her debut at the Miramar Invitational. However, she quickly shut down the speculation, confirming she wouldn’t be competing. For comparison, during the 2023 World Championships season, she had already run eight races before the USA Championships. This year? Just one race so far—with perhaps one more coming up.

Coach Rob, a track and field coach, reminded us that this is exactly what happened to Fred Kerley in 2023. As the reigning champ, he automatically qualified for the worlds. That was the reason he didn’t run much for the first half and lost when he actually reached the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. There’s a lingering fear that this might happen to Richardson as she hasn’t chipped that rust off fully yet. Hopefully, in July and August, we will see more of her on the track. Only then will we know how these three aspects look for her ahead of the Worlds in September!